How to be a Marauder
by It's All A Facade
Summary: Ruby Mante- A girl who became a Marauder through sheer luck and chance. If you want to read her life story, sure, go right ahead. It's not like that's an invasion of her privacy or anything. Go ahead. Let all the pain and joy and suffering she's gone through entertain you. Go on! It's not like you have anything better to do than read about someone you've never even met! ...Sicko.
1. Step 1: Meet the Other Marauders

**A/N: First thing- This is my first fanfic, so I would really appreciate feedback. Be as harsh as you want, but at least give reasons and/or advice. For example, instead of 'THIS IS SUCH A MARY SUE!', please put 'THIS IS A MARY SUE because of how she looks, how she acts, how she is treated by the main characters, etc. You could probably fix it by giving her a more realistic personality and appearance, and by portraying canon characters more accurately.' Too much to ask? Secondly- I chose to write an OC fanfic because they give you a chance to create your own character, but you also get a setting and canon characters to try to write as accurately as possible. But my main thing is if you're going to leave a review about how much this sucked (which I hope you don't, but it's up to you), just tell me why.**

**Disclaimer: I have not, do not, and will not ever own the magnificent story written by the great J.K. Rowling. I own absolutely nothing. Please do not sue me.**

* * *

"Bye, Ruby!" I heard my family chorus. I waved back at them and hoisted my luggage into the train. I probably wouldn't see my family until Christmas, which was both a blessing and a curse. Nope, just a blessing actually. Yeah, definitely a blessing. I looked around for an empty compartment and settled into the first one I found. I still couldn't believe I was a witch, everything seemed so hazy and dream-like. Although that might just have been because I barely squeezed in 2 hours of sleep last night. No one sleeps the night before school starts, right? I stifled a yawn and lay in the space between two seats, using my balled up jacket as a pillow. I fell asleep almost as soon as my head touched the ground.

A few minutes later, I was roughly yanked out of the Land of Nod by voices.

"Great, some bird's already in here", someone complained.

"Yeah, well, this is the only compartment left", replied another. I sat up groggily and opened my eyes, fully prepared to throttle whoever woke me up.

"Eff, we woke her up", said a boy with black hair and gray eyes who was admittedly quite attractive.

"We? That was purely your fault, Sirius", blamed a boy with untidy black hair. Although calling his hair untidy was extremely hypocritical of me, seeing as I probably had the world's worst bedhead.

I noticed two other boys hovering by the entrance, one quiet looking with pale skin and dark rings under his eyes, the other rather short.

"Get. Out." Hell hath no fury like a woman woken.

"You don't own this-" I roughly shoved them out and locked the door. I then proceeded to fall back asleep.

When I woke up again, they were back inside the compartment. I didn't question how they got through the lock; after all, we were on a train headed to a magic school. I stretched out and yawned.

"I'm guessing I'm stuck with you gits?" I asked.

"You're not exactly a joy to be around either", Messy-Hair replied .

"Talk about stating the obvious", Admittedly-Attractive agreed. I sighed.

"Look, just tell me your names or I will call you Messy-Hair, Grey-Eyes, Pale-Guy, and Shorty from now until the end of time."

"Well, since you asked so nicely", Messy-Hair said sarcastically,"I'm James Potter."

"Grey-Eyes?" Admittedly-Attractive raised an eyebrow. Hey, it was better than saying my actual nickname for him out loud. "It's Sirius Black."

"Remus Lupin", said the boy with pale skin, unaffected by my blunt rudeness. He extended a hand. I stared at it awkwardly for a moment. I hesitantly shook it, then quickly let it go.

"Peter Pettigrew", the short one said politely.

"And you are...?" Sirius asked lazily.

"Well, I'm exceptionally rude, if you haven't noticed. But my name's Ruby Mante." I blew a strand of my short black hair out of my eyes. "Now kindly leave me alone."

"Nice to meet you, too", Sirius muttered.

"Isn't it?" I replied.

Top Three Embarrassing Moments Before I Went to Hogwarts

3.) The time I very confidently read the wrong chapter from a story in front of the whole class while the teacher waited until I finished to stop me:

This one really doesn't need further explanation.

2.) The time that I accidentally pulled a fire alarm during school:

"Class! Single file line at the door! You can go to lunch when the bell rings!" Of course, we had been ten, so the term 'single file' had meant absolutely nothing to us. The class had swarmed around the door, so I had leaned against a wall to wait until the bell rang. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to lean on exactly the wrong spot in exactly the wrong way. And before I knew it- RING! RING!- the fire alarm had gone off.

"Oops."

1.) The time I got on Hogwarts Express and- Oh wait, that's right about now.

A cart had come around selling sweets, and I bought what looked like normal jelly beans. I was, unfortunately, wrong. Really, really wrong. Very much wrong. Extremely wrong.

They all tasted normal for a while; raspberry, bubblegum, pineapple and the like. And then:

"Oh my god, that is _disgusting_!" I exclaimed suddenly. I spat the bean out on the ground and washed my mouth out. "What _was_ that?!" I searched my mind, trying to identify the taste. I vaguely connected it with the way my old locker room had smelled. "It tasted like- like dirty gym socks! Ugh, gross!"

"Erm... You got some half chewed jelly bean on my shoe", Remus muttered awkwardly. I flushed.

"Or half unchewed, if that's how you want to look at things", Sirius remarked idly, examining a chocolate frog card. I snorted a little through my embarrassment.

"Your Muggleborn is showing", James said brightly, unwrapping a licorice wand.

"Well excuse me for not knowing a jelly bean was going to taste like dirty gym socks!" I cried indignantly.

"How do you know what dirty gym socks taste like?" Sirius asked curiously.

"It was a dare, okay?" I mumbled. They all stared at me until my laughter burst out. "I was joking", I explained. "But the looks on your faces..." I chuckled. "Priceless."

"Meh. That wouldn't even be the most extreme dare I've ever done", James shrugged. I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what would be?" I asked.

"Er... It wouldn't be quite proper to say in front of the delicate ears of a lady. And yes, Sirius, I do mean you", James said, avoiding the question.

"Aww, is little Jamesie-pie here embarrassed?" Sirius crooned. They soon got into a fight that appeared to be half verbal and half physical. I turned to the other two and shrugged.

"What's with Tweedledum and Tweedledumber over there?" I asked.

"Who's who?" Remus asked. I tilted my head to one side, considering the question.

"James is Tweedledum; Sirius is Tweedledumber", I said after much thought.

"And what makes you say that?" Remus asked curiously.

"I don't know... I think it's just the look on his face..." I said, staring at Sirius with half fascination and half disgust. The boy in question was crossing his eyes while stuffing Chocolate Frogs into his mouth. I wasn't sure whether to be repulsed or impressed.

"Ten! A new record!" Sirius shouted triumphantly, his mouth still full of chocolate.

"Psh, ten's nothing! I got to twelve once!" James bragged.

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" Boys. I don't even know what else to say. Just... _Boys_. Shudder.

"Look me in the eye right now and defend them", I said to Remus.

"They're not that bad", Remus shrugged. I snorted.

"Right, because not-so-bad people just wake people up from their naps."

"Are you seriously going to hold a grudge against them just for that?" Remus asked in disbelief.

"I've held grudges for less", I shrugged.

"So, which house are you hoping for?" Remus asked, changing the subject. Upon hearing the word 'house', James seemed to perk up.

"Gryffindor's the best, obviously", he declared loudly.

"So nice to see a non-prejudiced, unbiased opinion", I muttered sarcastically.

"Why? Which house are you for?" James narrowed his eyes. "Not another Slytherin?"

I racked my brain, trying to remember anything I could about the houses. "Er... Ravenpuff?"

Everyone besides me in the compartment snorted in perfect unison.

"I'm guessing I was a bit off", I said, concealing my embarrassment.

"It's Gryffindor that you probably want!" James stated.

"... Seriously, are you getting paid to advertise them or something?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't need to! They're just the best!" James exclaimed happily.

"Honestly, I'm fine with any house, as long as you two aren't in it", I said.

"The feeling's mutual", Sirius retorted.

"We're getting there in about five minutes!" An older student yelled, running down the hall.

"Good thing I'm already changed", I shrugged. I looked around me. At least I'd be free of Sirius and James soon.

* * *

**A/N- Just to clear something up, instead of Lily and Snape leaving, in this story, Sirius and James left. The encounter still happened. Anyways, I'm warning you now, my posting schedule will probably be a little erratic, but I promise you that I won't abandon this story.**


	2. Step 2: Get Sorted

**A/N- James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter met in the hallways of the train while they were all trying to find a compartment, started chatting, and found they rather enjoyed each other's company. Sorry, I plan these little details out, but I guess I just subconsciously assume everyone else will think the same thing, and I forget to write it in. Bad habit.**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing, I am not J.K. Rowling, I do not claim any sort of right to the ****_Harry Potter_**** franchise, I am just a nerd staring at a computer who does not own ****_Harry Potter_****, all that fun stuff.**

"Firs' years, over here!" I whipped my head around, trying to find the source of the voice. It didn't take very long, seeing as the man speaking was, to put it mildly, _huge_. And by huge, I don't mean the morbidly-obese-seriously-needs-to-lay-off-the-bacon kind of huge. He was probably twice as tall as me, and then some. Same with width. I stared at him in shock for a moment, the shrugged and decided to just go with it.

"Firs' years!" I assumed that meant I was supposed to follow him. Apparently, all the other kids seemed to have reached the same brilliant conclusion I had. When all the last stragglers had grouped around the giant of a man, he began to lead us away from all the older students, and towards a lake that surrounded Hogwarts. I took in the giant castle, awestruck. Was this really where I was going to spend the next seven years of my life?

I shook my head to snap myself out of my trance and kept walking. "Four ta a boat!" the man cried, and I realized we were crossing the lake to get to the school. Were we supposed to row them ourselves? That might take a while. I clambered into the nearest empty boat, and looked around for oars, only to find that there weren't any. Huh. Weird.

My Three Pre-Hogwarts Near-Death Experiences

1.) The time my older sister dragged me along on a shopping trip:

"Does this dress make me look fat?" my older sister, Faye, had asked. I hadn't bothered looking up from my book.

"Aren't you supposed to ask your boyfriend about this kind of crap?"

"Well, he's obviously not here right now, so just answer the question", she had snapped.

"Call him, then", I had replied mildly, flipping the page of my novel.

"Don't be an idiot", she had said impatiently.

"I'm not, take your own advice though, why don't you?"

"Just. Answer. The. Question." I had the memory span of a goldfish, so I had had no bloody idea what the question had been about, nor had I cared.

"Yeah." Faye had turned around, narrowing her blue eyes.

"What did you just say?"

2.) The time I caught the flu:

"I'm dying! I'm dying!" I had declared miserably. My older brother Jesse had snorted.

"You're hardly dying, Ruby."

"You're heartless! Your little sister is on her death bed- _achoo__!_-and that's all you can say?!"

"Apparently."

"You suck... Wait! I see a light... I'm in a tunnel... The light's so pretty..."

"Oh no, don't go into the light", Jesse had said in a bland monotone.

"_Achoo! _When I die, I want all my stuff buried with me... I know you can't take it all with you, but I'm gonna try! And booby trap my grave for grave robbers, will ya?"

"For Pete's sake, you barely have a fever", Jesse had rolled his eyes. "Do me a favour though, sneeze on me or something. I have a bloody exam tomorrow."

3.) The boat ride to Hogwarts:

"Do you mind if we sit here?" I looked up to see a redheaded girl accompanied by a boy with black hair. It was a little hard to tell, but judging by the way the faint moonlight, it looked like the boy had some pretty serious hygiene issues. _Don't judge a book by its cover_, I reminded myself. _Wait until he starts talking, and then you can judge._

"Sure", I shrugged. They climbed into the boat, making it sway slightly.

I jumped a bit and Lily exclaimed an awestruck "Whoa!" when the boat began to magically move forward, but besides that, we all sat in a fairly awkward silence- the exact opposite of my experience on the train. Eventually, the redhead attempted to make conversation.

"I'm Lily", she introduced herself. "And this is Sev", she gestured to the boy sitting beside her.

"Sev? Never heard that before", I remarked. "It's Ruby, by the way", I added.

"It's short for Severus, and if you call him Snivellus, so help me, I will..." she trailed off.

"Why would I do that?" I asked curiously, sensing a story.

"No reason", she said. "It's just someone else did, earlier today."

Severus, Snivellus... Huh. I guess it works. "Really? Who?"

"I don't know... Some bloke with glasses... I'm not sure what his name was, though", she replied.

"Was he accompanied by another git with black hair?" I asked.

"Yeah! Why? Do you know them?"

"Unfortunately", I grimaced. "Sat in my compartment- they were right gits. There were two other blokes with them- they didn't seem all that bad, actually, now that I think about it. Remus and Peter- they were pretty nice."

"Really? Someone who was friends with them was decent? I doubt that", the boy spoke up. Hm. First time I heard him speak, and he insults someone I just declared decent. Great first impression.

"Well, you can stop doubting, because I assure you, they were alright", I said, my eyes narrowing slightly.

"And how do you know that?" he countered.

"Because unlike you, I've actually met them", I shot back.

"So? They're friends with them, that makes them bad enough."

"Sev, they might not have even been friends", Lily broke in. "Besides, we haven't even met them yet, they could be nice."

"You met them-"

"Yes, I did Sev, and they're both a pain in the arse, but that doesn't mean that Remus and Peter are too", Lily said patiently.

"But-"

"Oh, for Pete's sake, would you just shut up and stop criticizing people you don't even know!" I snapped. A blonde in the boat closest to ours turned and gave me an odd look; I returned it with a small wave.

Severus stood up quickly, forgetting the small detail that he was on a boat that already a bit unbalanced because there were two people on one side and only one on the other.

"You bloody idiot! Sit back down before you capsize the-" _Splash! _Crap. Motherfreaking _git_! How could anyone be so _stupid_? I flailed around in the water, barely able to keep my head above the surface. I took deep, gasping breaths, managing to stay afloat for a few precious seconds at a time.

I saw a giant tentacle reach out and grasp Lily, and then put her back on the boat. It did the same to that bloody idiot, who had drifted quite a distance away from me, which was perfectly fine with me. Before the... thing could get to me, however, I was pulled up by someone in a different boat. Thank goodness. Although it probably would beat drowning, I did _not _want to know what those tentacles felt like.

"Thanks", I gasped, looking up to see two other girls and the blonde haired boy who had given me a funny look. "I swear, when I get back on dry land, I am going to-" I cut off with a loud cough.

"You okay there?" asked a girl with hazel eyes and blonde hair that was put in a braid.

"Yeah", I managed. "Great first impression, right?" I smiled weakly.

"I'm Marlene McKinnon", the girl smiled.

"Alice York", said a girl with a brown pixie cut and round cheekbones.

"And I am someone who really should've taken swimming lessons that goes by the name of Ruby Mante", I said. "You?" I asked the blonde with murky green eyes.

"Will Boot." I was fairly certain he was the one who had pulled me up.

"Thanks... What _was_ that thing?" I asked curiously, searching the water.

"Probably the Giant Squid", Will said matter-of-factly. If I had had water in my mouth, I would've done a spit take.

"The what? There's a Giant Squid here?"

"Looks like it", Marlene shrugged.

"I am attending a school with a Kraken living in the lake... That's actually pretty awesome", I murmured.

"Well, technically, there's a difference between a Giant Squid and a Kra-" Will tried to correct me, but I cut him off.

"Nope, I am calling it a Kraken from now 'til the end of time and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me", I declared.

"But-" he tried again.

"_Nothing_", I repeated stubbornly. He sighed and gave up.

"Hey, we're there!" Alice noted excitedly. Sure enough, the boats had reached the shores. We all climbed out and followed everyone else into the great castle.

"I am Professor McGonagall", I suddenly noticed the woman in front of us. "Your Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts." Everyone immediately stopped talking. She went on to explain the rules of Hogwarts, and mentioned the Sorting again, which was obviously very important. She then left us to talk amongst ourselves for a bit.

"You nervous?" I asked the people from my boat, deciding to stick with them, at least for the time being.

"Very", Marlene admitted. "The Sorting's supposed to ultimately affect your whole life at Hogwarts, you know." Great. Now I was considerably more nervous.

"I think most people pretty much already know what they're going to get- I mean, it all comes down to this: are you brave, smart, evil, or none of the above?" Will shrugged nonchalantly.

"Whoa!" Alice exclaimed, pointing at the wall behind us. "Look!" She wasn't the only one to have noticed, nearly everyone else was staring at the ghosts that had emerged.

"Don't worry, they're perfectly harmless", Will told us.

"Cool! My dad told me about them!" Marlene squealed, looking at all of them. I took in the sight before me.

Before any of us could say anything else, Professor McGonagall reappeared and led us into a huge room, filled with all the other students. I looked around the room- from the people to the beautiful ceiling to the other teachers- before my attention finally settled on a hat sitting on a stool. I stared at it curiously, as did everyone else, and then it started to _sing._

_"The founders of the four Houses_

_The four creators of Hogwarts_

_Were arguing like louses_

_ Kind Helga said, 'We should take them all'_

_ Brave Gryffindor wanted to take those filled with courage_

_ Proud Slytherin only wanted_

_ Those with pureblood lineage_

_Ravenclaw wanted those with wisdom they could heed_

_But then Gryffindor had an idea_

_ That would satisfy their every need_

_Four Houses, he said, and they could choose the ones they would want_

_ So with the ideas of Houses, of their worries they were freed_

_ Until the day they found_

_ Slytherin gone from his bed_

_So the three founders, now minus a friend_

_ Left the job of Sorting to me instead_

_ So that's how the Sorting, was left up to a hat_

_ Year after year, I've Sorted you all_

_ And placed you in the House in which you would fit best_

_ Year after year, I've made the right call_

_ So worry not, I'll place you in the right House_

_ After all, I'm not just any hat_

_ I'll put you where I'll know you fit best_

_And so that concludes our lovely little chat."_

... Wow. Random musical numbers really _do _happen in real life. Huh. Everyone began clapping, and when the noise died down, Professor McGonagall spoke.

"When you hear your name, come up, sit on the stool, and put on the hat to be sorted!" My mind began to drift off, my stomach clenching in anxiety.

"Black, Sirius!" I looked up, recognizing the name. He sat up there for a two or three minutes, his eyes occasionally drifting from what I assumed was the Slytherin table to the Gryffindor table, before the hat finally decided.

"GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted.

"Boot, Will!" Professor McGonagall called. Will went up, giving us a nervous smile.

"RAVENCLAW!" My mind began to wander a bit after that, until another name caught my attention.

"Evans, Lily!" was quickly sorted into Gryffindor.

"Lupin, Remus!" I watched him go up and anxiously cram the hat over his head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat declared. Crap. I was up soon. I could feel it.

"MacDonald, Mary!" Yep, I was after this one.

"GRYFFINDOR!" I took a deep breath, steeling myself.

"Mante, Ruby!" Marlene and Alice gave me encouraging smiles. I gave them a thankful look before going up. I put the hat on, trying to prepare myself.

"You're not exactly ambitious, are you?" Whoa.

_Not exactly, no... _A talking hat was reading my mind. Ok. Calm down. I've seen weirder... Actually, no, I haven't. _I'm a tad too lazy to be ambitious... _

"Not Slytherin then... How about Ravenclaw? No, you wouldn't fit there... Let's see... Ah! You value loyalty, don't you?"

_I suppose..._

"Yes, you do... Hm... How would you feel about Hufflepuff? They're not all bad, you know. They're just, hard-working... _Loyal_."

_Hard-working? You're kidding, right? You even mention work and I'm gone._

"That strong connection to loyalty would do you good in there, are you sure? And you can be just, I'm certain."

_What's my other option?_

"Gryffindor- ah, yes! Are you brave? Hmm... Noble, yes, I think so."

_Me? Brave? Please. Anything with six legs or more that crawls, flies, or spins webs- I'm out. And don't even talk to me about the dark._

"Yes, I think Gryffindor will do you nicely- that is, if you're sure about Hufflepuff? Alrighty then, GRYFFINDOR!" What? I took the hat off and set it back on the stool. Wow.

**A/N- If there are any grammar/spelling errors in here, please tell me so I can fix them. I feel like I might've missed something. I don't quite like my characterization of Snape and Lily, if anyone has any tips, I'm all ears.**


	3. Step 3: Attend Classes

**A/N- Ah, we've entered the era of erratic updating. Sorry, this isn't really a story you should check every day for updates. Hopefully it won't be another few months next time... Sorry. Thank you, Siriusly StarKid, for sticking with me. And to answer your questions: 1. You'll have to wait for that one :). 2. I love Jily too much to not include it... Same with another couple. ^.^**

**Disclaimer- I do not own any of this. **

The Sorting ended quickly after that; "McKinnon, Marlene!" became a Gryffindor, as did "Pettigrew, Peter!" and "Potter, James!" "Snape, Severus" became a Slytherin. When everyone was Sorted, an old man with blue eyes stood up.

"Welcome, all of you, to a new year at Hogwarts! I have no doubt that you are longing to eat; so please, by all means, so so!" Food suddenly appeared on the platters before us- ribs and chicken and roast beef and pretty much _everything_.

"Whoa", I breathed softly. I helped myself, grabbing a chicken wing.

"... Did you fall into the lake?" I looked to my left to see Remus staring at me curiously.

"No, I had my own little personal rain cloud storming above me", I replied sarcastically, spooning some mashed potatoes on my plate and soaking it in gravy.

"So, you fell in the lake", Remus said. I thought for a moment.

"I'd give you another sarcastic answer, but I've got nothing off the top of my head, so yeah."

"Erm... Did you happen to swallow any of the water?" he asked.

"I don't think so... Why?"

"No reason, I just read somewhere that the Hogwarts plumbing drains into the lake", he shrugged. I choked.

"What?!"

"I could be wrong", Remus shrugged.

"I really, really hope so", I said, feeling nauseous. "Jeez... Why'd you have to tell me that while I was eating?"

"You're welcome." I sighed and took a swig of water.

"So... Magic school. This is new", I said, making another attempt at a conversation. We made awkward conversation for a bit, before he turned to James and I turned to Alice.

I was rather drowsy by the end of the feast, I was practically falling asleep- but hey, in my defence, it had been a big day. Soon, we were all trudging up to the Gryffindor common room, where we were led to our dorms.

Our trunks were all by a bed- mine was the bed nearest the door. Damn. That meant mine was farthest from the bathroom.

"I'd introduce myself, but I'm too tired and most of you already know me anyway", I yawned. And with that, I flopped myself onto my bed and fell asleep, clothes and all.

* * *

I woke up groggily the next day to the sound of Marlene shouting.

"Wake up, everybody! First day of classes! Whoo! Come on, we've got places to go and people to see!" God, I hated morning people. Rolling over, I pressed my pillow over my head and groaned.

"Get up, lazy bums! Hurry up, before I hog the bathroom for an hour!" Marlene sang.

Well, that got me up. I rolled out of bed and grabbed a toothbrush from my trunk and groggily brushed my teeth. When I was done, I quickly changed into a new uniform and began to pull a hairbrush through the forest of knots that was my hair. Urgh. How did short hair get this tangled?! While I brushed my hair, I examined myself in the mirror.

My hair was black, kind of like the dull black of a blackboard. It was short, it went past my chin but didn't reach my shoulders. It thankfully covered my ears, which were a bit (a lot) bigger than I'd've liked them to be. My dark brown eyes were a bit narrow, and while I had long eyelashes, there were thin and I didn't have very many of them. My lips were just a little thin, and I had a dainty nose that rather clashed with my stronger features.

All in all- Meh.

I walked out of the bathroom, and Alice quickly rushed in after me. I grabbed my bookbag from my trunk, cramming everything I would need in there. Books, ink, quill, parchment...

"Hey, did you figure out how to use a quill?" I asked a girl with brown hair in a ponytail with light brown eyes.

"Barely", she said. "Why can't they just let us use pencils?"

"I know, right?" I laughed. "It took me an hour, and I still drip ink everywhere!"

We all went down to the Great Hall when everyone was ready (because, you know, girls travel in packs- it's a rule of nature), and started eating brreakfast.

My Top Nine Favourite Foods

4.) Candy Floss:

I first had some when I was six and my parents took me to an amusement park. I had been embarrassingly tiny, and I wanted to go on _everything_. And I mean everything. I dragged my poor parents to the carousel to the kiddie roller coaster to the pirate ship ride and back to the carousel again because the animal I had wanted the first time had been taken. My parents finally bought me some candy floss so they could sit down and rest their legs. And I've been hooked ever since. Looking back, I'm pretty sure my parents probably regret that decision now.

8.) Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream:

To everyone who says that mint chocolate chip or chocolate or coffee or strawberry ice cream is the best- you guys are all wrong. It's cherry vanilla. This subject is not debatable.

7.) Banana Cream Pie:

All I can say is this: If you haven't had banana cream pie, then you haven't truly lived.

6.) Walnut Brownies:

And not just any brownies. If you want to actually taste a brownie, then you have to go to the bakery two blocks away from my old school. Sigh. I miss that place already.

9.) Strawberries:

With lots of whipped cream on top. _Lots_.

2.) Cherries:

My brother Jesse used to take me to this one place a few blocks away from my neighborhood to pick cherries. I used to try to climb the trees, but I'd end up back on the ground again in a split second more often than not. (Looking back on it, I really should've had a couple of broken bones... How did I not notice I had magic?) But then Jesse would laugh and show me how to _really _climb a tree.

5.) Almonds:

Some people eat popcorn when they watch a movie. Others snack on chocolate. Me? A big bowl of almonds.

3.) Bacon:

Because honestly, who doesn't love it?

1.) Cinnamon Buns:

Cinnamon buns are little pieces of heaven that fell to Earth, and if anyone tries to tell me otherwise, I _will _smack them.

So when the breakfast table had four of those nine things, I pigged out a little, piling some cinnamon buns and bacon and strawberries and cherries onto my plate. I sunk my teeth into the first cinnamon bun when an enormously loud noise made me flinch.

"GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! DISGRACING YOUR FAMILY, DIRTYING THE BLACK NAME! BLOOD TRAITOR! NEVER, IN THE HOUSE OF BLACK- A GRYFFINDOR!" I winced, trying to find the source of the shrieks. I looked over to Sirius Black, who was holding a red envelope at arm's length.

"Is that envelope... Shouting?" I leaned over to Marlene.

"Screaming, to be precise", Marlene said matter-of-factly. "I was wondering- a Black in Gryffindor, you know."

"Not really", I said. "Know what?"

"The Blacks are huge Pure-blood fanatics", Marlene explained.

"What?" I asked, completely and utterly confused.

"They pretty much hate everyone outside of themselves", Marlene elaborated. "It's hard to explain."

"Alrighty then, I won't ask you to", I shrugged, giving Sirius one last glance. The letter had now burst into flames, and an older brunette was now talking to him. I took another bite of my cinnamon bun and pushed that red envelope and the look on Sirius's face out of my mind.

The Classes at Hogwarts (Ranked)

1.) Defense Against the Dark Arts:

Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught by a very pretty young woman who couldn't have been more than 23 or so with a soft voice that had an almost childish lilt to it. She had golden curls piled on top of her head, and deep blue eyes. She had extremely pale skin, adding to her overall look of delicacy. She spent half the class giving the this-is-how-things-are-going-to-work-in-my-classroom talk, and the other half talking about the difference between Dark magic and magic used for Dark purposes. But she didn't give us any homework, so that was something.

2.) Potions:

This class we actually did work in- we were told to partner up and make a 'Swelling Solution'. Wonderful. I looked around- Marlene and Alice, Lily and Snape, Mary and unknown- they were all paired up.

Great. I was the odd one out.

I searched around the classroom to look for any more loners. Paired up, partners, he's available but I don't like him because he has a haircut that makes him look like a prat, paired, she's alone but she bumped into me on the way to the boats and didn't apologize so I shall hate her from now 'til the end of time...

Yep. Looked like I was alone.

I settled down at an empty station, taking this as a sign that I would die alone, resigning myself to a long, lonely life, in which I would die a miserable death, surrounded by my many cats. Butterscotch would be perched on a sofa, watching the life drain out of my eyes, Lucky would sit on a windowsill and groom herself, Ginger would curl up against my arm, not showing the slightest flicker of emotion that my miserable life was ending- And I'm already planning my own death. Brilliant.

"Hey, Peter's with Frank and James and Sirius are together, so..." Remus joined me.

"Huh. I thought I'd have to be alone", I shrugged.

"That's actually impossible- there's an even number of people here", Remus pointed out. Two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, so on... Huh. He was right.

"Alright, then... You cut the thingamajigs over there, and I'll start heating the cauldron. As soon as I figure out how."

3.) Transfiguration:

It sounds fun, really, turning stuff into other stuff. Unfortunately for me, I really, really suck at it. That's really all I have to say about that. Except that I almost set someone on fire.

4.) Charms:

Also sounded fun. Also suck at it. And I actually did set someone on fire.

5.) Herbology:

I have a black thumb. I have a thumb blacker than my neighbour Geraldine's heart. (More on that later.) I have a thumb blacker than the colour black. I have a thumb so black you can't even see it. My thumb is so black, that when I touch a plant, it automatically shrivels up and dies.

Guess how Herbology went.

6.) History of Magic:

Imagine the worst. boring-est teacher you ever had. Now make him/her invisible. And then take that _one _subject that you absolutely, positively cannot stand. For most people, math. (For me, science.) Now multiply the boring-ness by about ten. Hundred. And then mix in some really long, weird, confusing names that you could never in a million years remember.

But on the bright side, you're free to take a nap!

7.) Astronomy:

Midnight. What school makes you got to class at _midnight_?! Midnight. 12 o'clock. Sigh.

I fell asleep slumped over my telescope twice and learned that some stars have names and some don't. Which sounds like favouritism to me.

8.) Flying Lessons:

Broomsticks. Might as well attach a wart to my nose and get a black cat.

"I will never fly again", I swore. "Ever."

"Aw, calm down- your nose is barely even bleeding."

"Sod off, Black."

"And to be fair, I wouldn't even have called that flying."

"Shove off, Potter."

**A/N- Yeah, all pretty filler. I hope to have some more stuff going on in the next chapter. Sorry it took so long.**


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